


May's Abusive Boyfriend

by Emily_F6



Series: Penny Parker Prompts [29]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Female Peter Parker, Gen, Irondad, May's Abusive Boyfriend, Penny Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26160283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6
Summary: Prompt: Penny can hand'e May's abusive boyfriend
Relationships: Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Thor
Series: Penny Parker Prompts [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899553
Comments: 6
Kudos: 301





	May's Abusive Boyfriend

Penny could handle Jeffrey. 

Ben had taught her to throw a punch and shoot a gun. He’d taught her to always stand up for herself to bullies and to protect the people that she could. Then she’d been bitten by a radioactive spider, gained superpowers, and been given a superhero suit by Tony Stark himself. She took down bad guys on the streets, stopped muggings and bank robberies and grand theft bicycles, and had once stopped a costumed villain called the Vulture from stealing all of Mr. Stark’s tech. 

She trained with the Avengers on a weekly basis. Including the Black Widow. Natasha Romanoff had praised her only two weeks ago for throwing a ‘decent’ punch and for ‘not being the worst opponent.’ Steve Rogers had taught her to box. She regularly sparred with Thor. The Thor. God of Thunder. She had webbed Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson to the ground in an airport only a few minutes after meeting them.

Jeffrey was a human. A normal human. He worked in an office. Sure, he drank a lot and used his stupid dumbbells every day, but Penny could still take him.

So she didn’t understand why she hadn’t. 

At first, she’d assumed that May wouldn’t let him stay around long. Sure, he was nice enough to May, but he was kind of rude, and more than a little patronizing with Penny especially. But lately, May had been distracted. She’d been going in for extra shifts and working longer hours, leaving Penny with Jeffrey, who had all but moved in, for longer and longer stretches of time. She mostly ignored him, knowing that if he started to bug her, she could just leave. Go to the tower. Or to Ned’s. Or MJ’s. She could lock her door. Climb to the roof and swing away. 

It started with comments when May wasn’t around. Penny ignored them. Suggested to May that he was kind of rude. May had seemed concerned, but for the wrong reasons. “Is it too soon?”

“What? No! I mean…I understand if you want to date someone else but…”

“Because I get it. If it is. Too soon, I mean.”

“It’s not! He’s just kind of a jerk sometimes.”

“Did he do something to you?” May had asked then, dead serious, and Penny had shaken her head.

“No! I just…he said something snarky about me working with Mr. Stark.”

May had relaxed a little. “He was probably just kidding, sweetie. You’re just not used to each other yet.”

He’d smacked her once. It had been a Monday morning and she’d been late for school. May had been at work and Penny had called him a freeloader. After his hand had made contact with her face, she’d just been…stunned. Humiliated. He’d just slapped her. No one had ever slapped her! SHe had wanted to slap him back. Shove him away. But she was a superhero and superheros didn’t do that. She’d tell May…she’d…

What if May thought she was lying? What if she thought Jeffrey was just joking around again? What if she thought Penny was making it up because she didn’t like him?

Penny stopped spending as much time at the apartment, which was fine. She had plenty of places to go, and now more time than ever to patrol. Which was great. Everything was fine. She would just ride this out and May would finally start spending more time at home and she would realize that this guy was an asshole and he would be gone. Everything was fine. Perfectly fine.

It had to be. May cared. Of course she cared. Penny didn’t blame her for this. Not at all.

She didn’t mean to call him an asshole. Not to his face. He was one, sure, but she was trying to avoid conflict with him. He just so happened to be in the living room when got home from school, backpack slung over her shoulder, stumbling upon the huge mess in the kitchen. 

“Clean that up, would you?” 

“You made the mess. You clean it,” Penny snapped, rolling her eyes and heading for her bedroom.

She heard him stand, and her stomach clenched in anticipation. She knew that she could take him. That she could knock him on his ass, no problem. But part of her still didn’t quiet believe this was happening. That May had really let this guy into their lives. 

“You’d better watch how you talk to me,” he growled, taking a threatening step forward. She told herself that she wouldn’t let him hit her again. That she would fight back. She was Spider-Girl. This guy was just some random asshole. She didn’t have to take this. This was her house!

“You don’t live here, asshole! So…”

The shove came so fast…she could have stopped him. Could have pushed him away. But she found herself on the ground, studden, back aching from the impact against the counter. Then his foot came back, and she started to jerk away on instinct, but it slammed into her side, forcing a choked scream out of her mouth. “Bitch!” He screamed it, and when he started to kick her again, she caught his foot easily, yanking hard and sending him sprawling.

Jumping to her feet, Penny grabbed the front of his shirt, shaking him hard and throwing him against the ground before holding him there. “You better get the hell out of my house, asshole! And don’t come back!” 

He was stunned, mouth open, eyes wide, and she left him there, fighting tears as she slammed her bedroom door.

Avengers training was the next day. When she’d woken up for school that morning, she’d been glad to see that the asshole was gone, and that she was free to get ready alone. May was still at work, but she knew her aunt would be home that afternoon. Penny wasn’t looking forward to facing her…but that man had hurt her! She’d had every right to fight back! Right?

All day, her ribs shifted painfully, reminding her over and over that she probably needed to take it easy, but that wasn’t an option. Not when she had training and, most likely, sparring with Steve. Mr. Stark tended to sit training out, choosing instead to work in the lab with Bruce. Today was no different, and she was grateful when Happy dropped her off at the tower and she headed inside, finding Steve, Thor, Wanda, and Natasha in the training room. 

“Bucky and Sam are out on a mission, and Rhodey and Bruce are with Tony in the lab, so it’s just us today,” Steve told her as she stepped into the room, dropping her backpack on the floor and flinching when her side gave a painful twinge. “Penny, you’re with me. Wanda and Natasha are going to be working on her magic. If you beat me, you get to spar with Thor.” 

Thor grinned from his spot in the corner, and she snorted, reminding herself at the last minute not to stretch her arms over her head…or to stretch at all. All she had to do was get through training, and then she had two days to rest and let her ribs heal. So she stepped onto the mat and brought her fists up, keeping an eye on Steve’s feet as he shifted. He would attack first. He always attacked first.

For a few minutes, everything was fine. She was able to move carefully, making sure not to move her side too much, and although he gave her a few strange looks, Steve didn’t say anything. And then she got sloppy. 

“Geez, kid. Get your head in the fight already!” Natasha called, sounding unimpressed, and that distraction was enough of a window for Steve to bring his foot up, kicking her right in the ribs.

Penny’s legs buckled and she let herself fall, the pain too intense for her to do anything but scream, dropping onto the mat. Steve swore, dropping to his knees at her side, Natasha half a beat behind him. “I didn’t hit her that hard…” Steve muttered, and she heard Wanda and Thor approaching too. 

“Move…let me see,” Natasha ordered, and she felt the woman lift her shirt as she fought to breathe, teeth clenched, breaths coming in harsh pants, every single one making her side hurt more. “Did you get this on patrol?” Natasha demanded, her hand bracing Penny’s shoulder as she tried to compose herself.

“Um…it’s fine. I’m fine…” she tried to say, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Steve shaking his head.

“Not fine. You’ve got at least one cracked rib, and it’s going to heal wrong if you don’t lay still. Friday, get Bruce down here! What happened? When was the last time you patrolled?”

“Penny last patrolled two days ago,” Friday put in helpfully from the ceiling. “And this injury was not received while wearing the suit.”

Penny glared at the ceiling, then shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m okay. I can…” She started to sit up but found herself stuck when Steve didn’t lift his hand.

“Penny, how were you injured?” Thor’s voice was soft as he knelt beside her, nothing but concern in his eyes, and she sighed. How was she supposed to lie to Thor? Especially when Friday was apparently ready to call her out?

“It’s no big deal. May was dating this guy and he…” Steve’s eyes widened and she hurried to go on. “But it’s fine. He’s gone now. I…I told him to leave. Not to come back. It’s fine.”

“Your aunt’s boyfriend…what, hit you?” Wanda asked, horror in her voice, and Penny gave a wry smile.

“Kicked me. But it’s fine. He’s gone.”

“Penny…that’s not fine.” Steve spoke slowly, voice soft, and he and Natasha exchanged glances before the woman stood, Wanda along with her. Thor slipped a hand under her back and helped ease her up, Steve on one side and Thor on the other. Together, they walked her over to the bench on the side of the room. 

“I’m going to get some dinner started,” Wanda excused herself.

“I’ll get you something to drink.” Penny nodded at Natasha and Wanda, feeling her cheeks burn. She didn’t want to be the center of their attention. Didn’t want them to worry about her or pity her. 

“Tony and Bruce are on their way,” Friday informed them just as Thor sat on her other side, he and Steve flanking her. 

“You don’t have to get Bruce. I’m fine.”

“He needs to take a look at your ribs. We have to make sure they aren’t broken, and if they are, we have to make sure they don’t shift. You’ll need to be on bedrest for a few days to make sure they heal correctly.” Penny sighed, dropping her head against the wall, and then he spoke again. “Penny…did you tell your aunt that her boyfriend was hitting you?”

“He wasn’t…he only hit me once or twice. It was fine. I’m Spider-Girl…I can take Jeffrey.”

“Did you tell your aunt that you didn’t like him?”

“I…I told her that…I told her that he was a jerk. But…she’s been really busy and…” Penny shrugged. “It was fine. I took care of it.”

“You shouldn’t have had to take care of it,” Thor told her, his voice nearly a whisper.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, Penny,” Steve murmured, leaning in, and Penny felt the tears prick at her eyes. She’d known that. She knew that it hadn’t been fine. Why hadn’t she tried harder to tell May? Why had she just let all of this happen? 

“It’s my fault,” Penny whispered, not meeting their eyes. “It is. I knew he was a jerk and I didn’t try hard enough…”

“That isn’t your fault. You’re not responsible for the men that your aunt dates. But if one of them hurt you and you tell her…”

“I didn’t! I didn’t tell her that he hurt me. I just…” Penny shrugged. “I thought it was no big deal.”

“You should always be safe in your home.” Thor placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and Penny closed her eyes, letting him pull her just a little until she was resting on his shoulder, and that was how Tony and Bruce found them a minute later. 


End file.
